Chapter 916: Secret Transaction

Asleep and dazed?

Reiguanwang blinked hard.

Yet the Lingyou Horse before it remained gentle and obedient, utterly unlike its former proud and defiant self.

It couldn't help saying: "All All Baimu—"

"I had a good long chat with the Lingyou Horse. Yeah, it's quite reasonable."

All All Baimu smiled in explanation.

The greatest achievement of this 【Divine Heart】 was discovering that the Lingyou Horse harbored an almost pathological fondness for his soul.

Fortunately, this emotion resembled the admiration and obsession one feels toward a treasured object—not food-related.

But he had reason to suspect that in a hundred years, the Lingyou Horse would steal his soul to keep as a collection.

He only hoped that at that time, Gengar, Dragonite, and the others would be up to the task; perhaps he'd even get a chance to transform into a Ghost-type Pokémon.

In short.

Under his own persuasion, both sides forged a friendship.

In exchange for sharing one night's sleep, he secured the Lingyou Horse's willing cooperation with Reiguanwang…

It was common for Trainers and Pokémon to sleep together; Gengar, Happiny, and others had always been his sleep partners.

So why did the Lingyou Horse's proposal feel so strange?

Anyway, All All Baimu didn't think it was his problem.

Back to the matter at hand.

Reiguanwang regarded the Lingyou Horse with a complex gaze.

"... Fine."

It sighed.

Though it was hard to accept that the beloved horse, once full of laughter with it, now ignored it yet clung so closely to All All Baimu,

the facts were clear—it could only accept them.

A blue tethering bridle materialized.

"Become my aid!"

Reiguanwang roared, soaring straight onto the horse's back and driving the bridle into both sides of the Lingyou Horse's cheeks.

Energy transfer!

Hum!

In the boundless darkness, violet light blazed!

Moments later.

A mysterious, elegant black knight descended.

Countless mist-like currents, like gauze, swirled around it, slowly dissipating after a long while.

"Congratulations!"

All All Baimu applauded.

Clap-clap-clap—

The Barza siblings and the watching Pokémon responded enthusiastically, sensing Reiguanwang's aura had grown deeper than before.

Had it regained its strength once more?

"Thank you, all of you."

Reiguanwang nodded, then turned to All All Baimu and invited: "Would you care to ride with me?"

Before the latter could answer, a dark shadow rushed in between.

"Shasang!"

The three heads of Salamence shook rhythmically left and right, refusing on the Trainer's behalf.

All All Baimu chuckled, grabbing the swaying massive tail and said: "I'll ride it. Don't worry—I'll keep up."

At least for the first half of the night, no problem.

He thought to himself.

"Alright."

Reiguanwang didn't press. The Lingyou Horse let out a mournful whinny, "Eeeuuu~"

Not long after.

All All Baimu and Reiguanwang were ready to depart.

Their plan was to begin at Platinum Mountain, transforming as much terrain as possible along the way, focusing especially on the Pokémon Paradise region north of Oure and east of Battle Mountain.

The terrain here closely resembled the area around Huang Tie Town—frequent high mountains and deep valleys, yet also vast plains.

Perfect as habitat for Pokémon.

One could say:

If the food crisis were resolved, this region could easily support hundreds of thousands of Pokémon.

Didn't thousands of Pokémon already live near Platinum Mountain?

Compared to the vast northeastern expanse of Oure, Platinum Mountain was nothing.

"We're on our way."

All All Baimu sent the message.

The next second, he received a reply.

N: "Awaiting good news."

This guy… if only he were this gentle and considerate toward humans too.

He sighed helplessly and told the three Pokémon:

"Let's go!"

"Good!"

"Eeeuuu~"

The Lingyou Horse reared and let out a long cry, gliding forward like a phantom spirit.

Yet as it ran, it made no sound—no hoofbeats struck the ground; only violet smoke trailed behind, appearing eerily distant.

Only up close could one glimpse the steed's majestic form.

"Shasang!"

Salamence, unwilling to be outdone, flapped its wings and chased after.

The Barza siblings and the Pokémon watched them depart until their silhouettes vanished completely, then dispersed.

The siblings, exhausted from the day, decided to rest early; Hu Pa led the shiny Gengar and the Dragonite siblings outside to play; Gyarados watched a movie by the campfire, Shuppet secretly peeked, and Happiny cheerfully prepared snacks for them.

Shiny Milotic wanted to return to the Link Lake to sing, so Bastiodon volunteered to escort it, while also patrolling its territory.

Glaceon slipped quietly after them.

On one hand, it worried Happiny might talk to Milotic and make it uncomfortable; on the other, it felt Bastiodon's strength was formidable enough to earn its approval—

This horse was extremely double-standard.

The colossal Steelix went to find its underground-digging subordinates; the lazy Solrock curled up inside its tent.

The Five Pillars, except the Electric Pillar, each headed toward their assigned guardian zones.

In no time.

The once bustling camp fell silent.

When the Trainer was here, everyone gathered together.

When the Trainer was gone, everyone followed their own preferences.

Rarely did they cluster together like Ash and his travel companions' Pokémon, always playing as a group.

——

The night in Oure was unnervingly quiet.

Words like desolate, eerie, bleak—all cold terms—could describe it.

Soil devoid of life…

All All Baimu gazed at the empty desert before him, the towering peak piercing the distant horizon, his eyes trembling slightly.

The next instant.

He turned to look behind.

As the endless green grasslands and fragrant flowers swaying in the wind filled his vision, his earlier gloom lifted considerably.

"It's beautiful."

All All Baimu, he deeply loved the natural world of the Pokémon world.

Without hesitation, aside from his compassion for wild Pokémon and his promise to N,

his desire to see Pokémon living and thriving naturally in Oure was one of the driving forces behind his search for Reiguanwang.

Now, half his wish had come true.

He looked forward to the day when this vast grassland would be filled with herds of wild Pokémon.

Slowly multiplying, leaving behind their traces.

As he imagined this—

A faint glow suddenly appeared ahead.

As they drew nearer, the light grew clearer.

Not long after, a town emerged, its many large machines still roaring nonstop even at night.

Multibutton Phone: "It's Battle Town."

Battle Town.

Built on the ruins of a former Dark Pokémon laboratory.

To prevent Team Shadow from rising again, the Rescue Organization bombed the site three times with Pokémon, erasing every trace.

Now it is one of the key sites, primarily constructed by Team Magma to host visiting tourists and Trainers.

No doubt.

It lies extremely close to the tournament venue, so it will serve as a lodging point for contestants after the competition begins.

Transportation back and forth is handled by cable cars and light rail.

"Almost finished, huh."

All All Baimu gazed at the many buildings in the distance, across Battle Town.

Though they were just passing through, with Reiguanwang's power, influencing that place would be effortless.

Of course.

It isn't that bored.

It glanced once, then withdrew its gaze.

All All Baimu stopped staring longingly, thinking that seeing Battle Town meant they had only half the journey left.

…No wonder he's the Dark Horse King!

He quickly checked the condition of Salamence, saw it was slightly out of breath, and immediately relaxed.

But All All Baimu hadn't expected.

Their passage through Battle Town had triggered a small-scale commotion.

The rapidly growing plants hadn't disrupted construction work, but they had terrified the workers and helper Pokémon.

The Team Magma crew managing the site swiftly reported up the chain, and eventually, even Hucun, who had already changed into his pajamas and was preparing for bed, was dragged to the scene.

"What the hell is going on?"

Hucun rubbed his eyes.

The boss, Blaziken, had returned to Fuchsia, and he'd been busy coordinating operations all day—he had no idea what had happened in Silicon City during the day.

Fortunately, the responsible official from Oure arrived in time and explained the details.

Hucun then learned that the young man who had originally brought them into Oure had quietly pulled off another big stunt!

"This damn…"

He felt a pang of jealousy.

Both he and All All Baimu used Legendary Pokémon to achieve their goals—why did All All Baimu get praised by everyone, while they were branded as an illegal organization and took years to clear their names?

Hucun had completely forgotten how Team Magma had once used any means necessary to achieve its goals.

Anyway, he was just bitter!

Then he decided he couldn't be bitter alone—he had to make the boss and other officers bitter too!

Hucun decisively ignored the time difference and forcibly contacted Blaziken, far away in Fuchsia.

Hearing the long silence on the other end of the call.

He felt satisfied.

One person's joy isn't as good as shared joy!

Oh!

They should also notify Team Aqua!

Hucun belatedly remembered he could still torment his old rivals—but compared to contacting Blaziken, getting a timely reply from Team Aqua would be harder.

Whatever.

Just send it!

With his fat face squinting into two slits, Hucun cackled as he sent the message to Aqua's Aquan.

Two flowers bloom, each in its own place.

When night deepened.

All All Baimu and Reiguanwang were still on their way.

'All All Baimu!'

It suddenly spoke: 'A Pokémon is approaching ahead!'

All All Baimu squinted forward and saw, in the air directly ahead, a cluster of shimmering lights.

Visibility at night in the wild was terrifyingly low.

Even though the Pokémon emitted light, he couldn't clearly see distant moving objects without any tools.

He said: "We're almost there—probably here to welcome us?"

After hours of long travel, they were very close to Pokémon Park.

As he spoke,

the two sides drew closer.

Suddenly, All All Baimu recognized their true form—it was a flock of Hoothoots, their eyes glowing like lightbulbs!

"Hoot! Hoot!"

They cried loudly, then swiftly circled upward to reposition themselves, trying to illuminate All All Baimu's path ahead.

But first, Hoothoots were too slow to overtake and lead them.

Second, their attention had been drawn to the wildly growing vegetation on the ground.

"Hoot!"

"Hoot!"

The Hoothoots flapped their wings excitedly.

All All Baimu looked back at the few Hoothoots and smiled: "They're definitely here to welcome us… Look over there!"

He sharply pointed to the right front.

In fact,

Reiguanwang had already "seen" it through psychic power.

The massive ship—Libra—that had been stolen from the ocean by the second-generation Team Shadow using Dark Lugia.

Now it had become a habitat for many wild Pokémon.

Dozens of curious gazes pierced toward them—not just Reiguanwang, but All All Baimu sensed them too.

"Behind Libra is Pokémon Park."

He said: "Let's pause a moment. There are too many wild Pokémon inside—a sudden change could cause chaos. We need N to come along."

All the Pokémon in the park are N's friends—he personally rescued them from Huang Tie Town, Silicon City, and a few other places.

Only N could earn their complete trust.

'Agreed.'

Reiguanwang nodded, gently tugging the reins.

"Whoa~"

Lingyouma immediately slowed down. Salamence sighed in relief—if it kept flying much longer, it would collapse.

Long-distance travel was too terrifying.

In fact,

Lingyouma's speed hadn't even reached its limit—Reiguanwang had simply worried Salamence couldn't keep up.

The group passed over the wreckage of Libra.

Before the towering cliffs of the valley, a familiar figure sat on a large rock, waiting.

When it noticed them approaching, the figure slowly stepped forward.

'All All Baimu.'

Reiguanwang frowned and said: 'Your friend isn't human?'

All All Baimu paused, then smirked.

He looked at the green-haired young man ahead, his face softened by a gentle smile, his eyes devoid of highlights, and said: "I'll clap for you—go get N for me, okay?"

"..."

The young man's smile vanished; he leapt off the ground, spun several times midair, and transformed into an angry little fox with black fur and a red tail.

"Aow!"

Solrock dashed forward, leapt up to grab All All Baimu's knee, then stormed off in a huff.

He'd trained hard for four months just to trick the guy today.

And he'd been found out so quickly!

So frustrating!

All All Baimu met Salamence's teasing gaze, patted its head, and said, "I've got important business to handle."

Normally, he'd play around with Solrock.

They continued deeper into the gorge.

Reiguanwang asked: 'Why didn't he come out himself? Why send a Pokémon?'

"Because I told him about you."

All All Baimu sighed and said, "He's stubborn—if he believes something is right, it's hard to convince him without effort."

His unusual upbringing shaped N's personality, compounded by his extreme bias toward Pokémon.

Thus emerged such a strange friend of Pokémon.

Fortunately, N's nature is kind; he does not easily descend to extremes like most villains.

Even when he originally despised all human actions without reason, he never attacked others arbitrarily.

"Alone… hmm?"

Regigigas was about to speak when suddenly she looked ahead.

A bright yellow lantern approached.

The green-haired youth reappeared before them, his smile warm and calm, his hat brim slightly lowered, obscuring his eyes.

"Welcome back, All All Baimu, Charizard."

He whispered, then added to Regigigas and Spiritomb, "And to you two new friends—welcome to Pokémon Park."

"It's late, everyone is asleep; please forgive the Pokémon for not coming to greet you."

"No need for formalities."

Regigigas withdrew her gaze from N.

All All Baimu had said this was a very strange person—Pokémon always felt drawn to him.

Now seeing him firsthand, she found it true.

He indeed radiated an emotion that put one at ease.

But.

Regigigas felt nothing.

She cared nothing for his term "new friends."

Finish quickly, return quickly.

"Do you have a plan? If not, rest now."

Regigigas's eyes glowed blue.

Her mental power slowly spread outward, until it covered the entire northeastern region of Alola.

"Ten minutes."

Regigigas declared with arrogance.